Where can I find Latin shoes with leather bottoms only??

Question

I found some good sites but they all have the suede bottoms.. well they are cheaper! And would suede be harder to clean?
Gonna start taking salsa classes.. need some advice and things to consider before buying any..

looking for clubby style salsa shoes (strappy.. 3inches..silver shoes)

even tho they are suede.. i might order from www.partydanceshoes.com

Answer 1

You really need the suede bottoms, otherwise you will slide all over the floor. It's okay at the beginning to have leather soled shoes because you won't be doing that much. But as you learn more, and you do more complex stuff, you will want the suede. You should invest in a shoe brush as well so that as the suede wears down, you can brush it back. Don't wear your salsa shoes anywhere but on the floor of the club, you'll ruin the suede.

Showtime has nice shoes. And they are always having sales of discontinued items.

Just a note, a dance shoe needs to fit more closely to your foot than a regular shoe. A good-fitting ladies salsa shoe, then, would have your toes all the way to the edge (some girls actually like it better when their toes hang out, because it puts them in better contact with the floor). It's important to try the shoes on, because they are all sized differently. You can ask your teacher to help with sizing the shoes--even if your teacher is a guy, a lot of dancing and you start to learn about shoes.

You will have to break them in by wearing them a good 10 minutes a day in your home, preferably on the carpet. And after an hour or so of dancing in them for the first time, you will really be hurting. This is normal! You eventually get used to it.

If you're lucky enough to have a really nice dance partner, you may find someone who will massage and take care of your feet after dancing. I do that for my dance partners, but only if I get dinner out of it, lol!

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

All the advise above looks good. Maybe exept for the hurting part - your dance shoes are not supposed to hurt if fitted properly. Yeah, your feel will hurt like after an hour of dancing in any shoe, but dance shoes are suppoed to b ebetter not worse in that regard. To the second part of your question: suede sole is not too hard to clean. You will need a wire brush. Order it from the same website as your dance shoes - look under "accessories" or something like that. But keep in mind that you can't wear these shoes outside or on dirty soiled floors at all, ever, or you'll ruin them.
Check out http://www.featherdanceshoes.com
When buying dance shoes, make sure you understand what sizing system they use. Some brands use British sizes, those are your American size minus 2. I.e. if you wear size 6 your British size would be 4. The site I gave you uses American sizes. Usually, if it is not specified, the sizing is American.

It is best if you can find a local store, because proper fitting is important. If you mentioned at least approximately if your feet are wide or narrow - I'd give you more info on what brands might be better. If you have to buy from the website - their owners are usually willing to tell you which model is wider/narrower.

Answer 3

A different kind of solution might be to find the shoes you like (regular strappy heels) and convert them. "Street shoes" are any ready-made shoes not specifically made for dance but adaptable to becoming your designated dance shoes. You can buy that favorite brand that fits so well! Hard leather soles can be glued by a cobbler to manmade or rubber soles. The cost is usually between $10-25. It is worth it, since the shoes will last a long time if you save them just for dancing.

The best bond (I am reliably informed by shoe makers) is with leather to rubber, so try to find a pair of shoes that you find comfortable and that have leather soles glued on.